Metal gate structure and method of manufacturing same

ABSTRACT

A method of manufacturing a metal gate structure includes providing a substrate ( 110 ) having formed thereon a gate dielectric ( 120 ), a work function metal ( 130 ) adjacent to the gate dielectric, and a gate metal ( 140 ) adjacent to the work function metal; selectively forming a sacrificial capping layer ( 310 ) centered over the gate metal; forming an electrically insulating layer ( 161 ) over the sacrificial capping layer such that the electrically insulating layer at least partially surrounds the sacrificial capping layer; selectively removing the sacrificial capping layer in order to form a trench ( 410 ) aligned to the gate metal in the electrically insulating layer; and filling the trench with an electrically insulating material in order to form an electrically insulating cap ( 150 ) centered on the gate metal.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/154,307, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,875,519, which was filed on May 21,2008.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The disclosed embodiments of the invention relate generally to metalgate structures for microelectronic devices, and relate moreparticularly to protective etch stop layers for such gate structures.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field-effect transistors (FETs) include source, drain, and gateterminals that are associated with a body terminal. In order to providethe necessary electrical connections within the transistor, contactstructures must be formed that connect various terminals to otherstructures within and outside of the transistor. As pitch scalingcontinues to increase the packing density of transistors on computerchips, the space available for forming such electrical contacts israpidly decreasing.

In one FET configuration, source and drain terminals are located withinthe body and the gate is located above the body such that, in order toform an electrical connection with the source/drain terminal, thesource/drain contacts must pass alongside the gate. Given existing pitchscaling trends, the creation of unwanted electrical connections (shorts)between source/drain terminals and the gate will quickly becomeunavoidable given the limitations of registration and critical dimension(CD) control under existing transistor manufacturing techniques.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed embodiments will be better understood from a reading ofthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying figures in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a metal gate structure according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of manufacturing a metalgate structure according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 3-5 are cross-sectional views of the metal gate structure of FIG.1 at various particular points in its manufacturing process according toembodiments of the invention.

For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figuresillustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions anddetails of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoidunnecessarily obscuring the discussion of the described embodiments ofthe invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of theelements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements tohelp improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. Thesame reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements,while similar reference numerals may, but do not necessarily, denotesimilar elements.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in thedescription and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishingbetween similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particularsequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the termsso used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such thatthe embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example,capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated orotherwise described herein. Similarly, if a method is described hereinas comprising a series of steps, the order of such steps as presentedherein is not necessarily the only order in which such steps may beperformed, and certain of the stated steps may possibly be omittedand/or certain other steps not described herein may possibly be added tothe method. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” andany variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion,such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a listof elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but mayinclude other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process,method, article, or apparatus.

The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,”“under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, areused for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describingpermanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms soused are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that theembodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capableof operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwisedescribed herein. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined asdirectly or indirectly connected in an electrical or non-electricalmanner. Objects described herein as being “adjacent to” each other maybe in physical contact with each other, in close proximity to eachother, or in the same general region or area as each other, asappropriate for the context in which the phrase is used. Occurrences ofthe phrase “in one embodiment” herein do not necessarily all refer tothe same embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In one embodiment of the invention, a method of manufacturing a metalgate structure comprises: providing a substrate having formed thereon agate dielectric, a work function metal adjacent to the gate dielectric,and a gate metal adjacent to the work function metal; selectivelyforming a sacrificial capping layer centered over the gate metal;forming an electrically insulating layer over the sacrificial cappinglayer such that the electrically insulating layer at least partiallysurrounds the sacrificial capping layer; selectively removing thesacrificial capping layer in order to form a trench aligned to the gatemetal in the electrically insulating layer; and filling the trench withan electrically insulating material in order to form an electricallyinsulating cap centered on the gate metal.

As mentioned above, source/drain to gate contact shorts are projected tobecome increasingly difficult to avoid in light of the aggressive pitchscaling necessary in order to achieve the high transistor densities thatwill accompany future process technologies. Self-aligned cappingstructures on copper gate electrodes have been demonstrated and couldoffer a partial solution to this problem but are not expected to beuseful at gate dimensions below 35 nanometers (nm), as copper fillprocesses become very marginal at those dimensions.

Embodiments of the invention provide a method to form a self-alignedprotective cap on aluminum and other metal gate transistors even at gatedimensions less than 35 nm because the gate formation is not limited bygate electrode fill. Such protective caps may provide robust margins forcontact registration and may also allow contact CD to be larger, therebylowering contact resistance.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of ametal gate structure 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, metal gate structure 100 comprises a substrate110, a gate dielectric 120 over substrate 110, a work function metal 130adjacent to gate dielectric 120, and a gate metal 140 adjacent to workfunction metal 130. Metal gate structure 100 further comprises anelectrically insulating cap 150, which, because it only grows on themetal gate, is centered on and self-aligned to gate metal 140, anelectrically insulating layer 160 over and at least partiallysurrounding electrically insulating cap 150, spacers 170 adjacent to thegate dielectric 120, and a dielectric material 180, e.g., an inter-layerdielectric (ILD) such as a first-level ILD (ILD0), at least partiallysurrounding spacers 170. Electrically insulating layer 160 comprises alower section 161 and an upper section 162.

As an example, gate metal 140 can be a metal or a metal alloy such asaluminum, tungsten, titanium-nitride, or the like, or any metal or alloy(in addition to those already listed) that lends itself to atomic layerdeposition (ALD). It should be noted here that work function metal 130can be the same material as that making up gate metal 140. As anotherexample, electrically insulating cap 150 can comprise silicon nitride(Si₃N₄), silicon carbide (SiC), or the like, or any non-electricallyconducting (dielectric) material that can function as a etch stop layerfor a particular etch chemistry used during the manufacture of metalgate structure 100, as will be further discussed below.

As another example, gate dielectric 120 can be a material having arelatively high dielectric constant. (As is traditional, such a materialis referred to herein as a “high-k material,” a “high-k dielectric,” orsomething similar.) Silicon dioxide (SiO₂), which was widely used in thepast as a gate dielectric, has a dielectric constant κ (often written as“k”) of approximately 3.9. References in this document to high-kmaterials mean materials having dielectric constants that aresignificantly greater than the dielectric constant of SiO₂. In practice,such materials typically have dielectric constants of approximately 8-10or higher (although materials having dielectric constants lower thanthat may still qualify as high-k materials). Similarly, referencesherein to a “low-k” material mean materials having a dielectric constantthat is low relative to that of SiO₂, e.g., materials having dielectricconstants less than approximately 3.5.

As an example, gate dielectric 120 may be a hafnium-based, azirconium-based, or a titanium-based dielectric material having adielectric constant of at least approximately 20. In a particularembodiment the high-k material can be hafnium oxide or zirconium oxide,both of which have a dielectric constant between approximately 20 andapproximately 40.

As yet another example, lower section 161 of electrically insulatinglayer 160 can comprise silicon oxide or another dielectric material. Incertain embodiments, lower section 161 is a low-k dielectric material.In certain embodiments, upper section 162 of electrically insulatinglayer 160 comprises dielectric material identical to that in lowersection 161 such that any boundary between lower section 161 and uppersection 161 is not readily discernible, or disappears entirely. In otherembodiments, upper section 162 and lower section 161 may compriseelectrically insulating materials of different types.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method 200 of manufacturing a metalgate structure according to an embodiment of the invention. As anexample, method 200 may result in a transistor having a self-alignedprotective cap on an aluminum or other gate metal that providesadvantages such as those discussed herein.

A step 210 of method 200 is to provide a substrate having formed thereona gate dielectric, a work function metal adjacent to the gatedielectric, and a gate metal adjacent to the work function metal. As anexample, the substrate, the gate dielectric, the work function metal,and the gate metal can be similar to, respectively, substrate 110, gatedielectric 120, work function metal 130, and gate metal 140, all ofwhich are shown in FIG. 1. Also as part of step 210, or in another step,spacers may be formed adjacent to the high-k gate dielectric and an ILDmay be formed adjacent to the spacers. As an example, the spacers can besimilar to spacers 170 and the ILD can be similar to dielectric material180, both of which are first shown in FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, step 210 or a subsequent step may comprise exposingthe gate metal to a buffered hydrofluoric acid solution or a dilutehydrochloric acid solution. As an example, the buffered hydrofluoricacid solution may comprise hydrofluoric acid, de-ionized water, and abuffering agent such as ammonium fluoride or the like. The bufferingagent maintains the hydrofluoric acid solution at an appropriate pHlevel, which in at least one embodiment is a pH between 4 and 6. Asanother example, the dilute hydrochloric acid solution may comprise onepart per volume hydrochloric acid (29% aqueous solution) and 10 partsper volume de-ionized water. In one embodiment, the gate metal isexposed to the buffered hydrofluoric acid solution for a period of timelasting between approximately ten and approximately sixty seconds.(Longer exposure times may begin to etch or otherwise negatively affectother parts of metal gate structure 100, such as ILD0.)

A step 220 of method 200 is to selectively form a sacrificial cappinglayer centered over the gate metal. (As further discussed below, thephrase “selective formation” and similar phrases herein refer toprocesses that allow a first material to be formed on a second materialor material type but not on a third material or material type.) As anexample, the sacrificial capping layer can be similar to a sacrificialcapping layer 310 that is first shown in FIG. 3, which is across-sectional view of metal gate structure 100 at a particular pointin its manufacturing process according to an embodiment of theinvention. It should be noted that FIG. 3 depicts metal gate structure100 at an earlier point in its manufacturing process than does FIG. 1.

As an example, sacrificial capping layer 310 can comprise tungsten oranother material that can form a self-aligned structure on top of gatemetal 140. Described below is an embodiment in which sacrificial cappinglayer 310 comprises tungsten and gate metal 140 comprises aluminum.

Chemical vapor deposition of tungsten (CVD-W) is an importantmetallization technique for various applications. In ultra-large-scaleintegrated circuit (ULSI) applications CVD-W is often used to fillcontact vias due to its ability to fill high aspect ratio structureswith no voiding. Another aspect of CVD-W is its ability, under certaindeposition conditions, to selectively deposit onto silicon or othermetals but not onto SiO2 or other insulators.

Embodiments of the invention exploit this selective depositioncapability to form sacrificial capping layer 310 self-aligned to (i.e.,centered on) the aluminum of gate metal 140. In one embodiment, forexample, tungsten is selectively deposited using a CVD technique inwhich high flow (e.g., approximately 1 Torr) hydrogen (H₂) and low flow(e.g., approximately 30 mTorr) tungsten hexafluoride (WF₆) precursorsare introduced into a CVD chamber at a temperature between approximately200 degrees Celsius (° C.) and approximately 300° C. with approximately5-10 CVD cycles. A sequence of chemical reactions for this embodimentare shown below, where Al is aluminum, AlF₃ is aluminium trifluoride,AlF₂ is aluminum difluoride, and HF is hydrofluoric acid.WF ₆+2Al→W+AlF ₃2AlF ₃→3AlF ₂(Heated above 300° C.)WF ₆+3H ₂ →W+6HF

In a particular embodiment, the reaction of step 220 is performed at atemperature between approximately 200° C. and approximately 275° C.,with lower temperatures in this range preferred. If the temperature istoo high (e.g., above approximately 300° C.) then the tungsten may beginto alloy with the aluminum, compromising the gate structure. On theother hand, if the temperature is too low (e.g., below approximately200° C.) then the desired selectivity begins to be lost.

A step 230 of method 200 is to form an electrically insulating layerover the sacrificial capping layer such that the electrically insulatinglayer at least partially surrounds the sacrificial capping layer. As anexample, the electrically insulating layer can be similar to lowersection 161 of electrically insulating layer 160 that is shown inFIG. 1. After its deposition the electrically insulating layer isplanarized and polished back so as to expose the tungsten (or other)sacrificial capping layer.

A step 240 of method 200 is to selectively remove the sacrificialcapping layer in order to form a trench aligned to the gate metal in theelectrically insulating layer. It should be understood that the word“trench” as used in this context herein is used broadly such that it canindicate any type of an opening, a gap, a cavity, a hole, an emptyspace, or the like that can later be filled with a material, asdiscussed below. As an example, the trench can be similar to a trench410 that is first shown in FIG. 4, which is a cross-sectional view ofmetal gate structure 100 at a particular point in its manufacturingprocess according to an embodiment of the invention. It should be notedthat FIG. 4, like FIG. 3, depicts metal gate structure 100 at an earlierpoint in its manufacturing process than does FIG. 1. As illustrated inFIG. 4, trench 410 is located above, and aligned to, gate metal 140.

In one embodiment, step 240 comprises etching away the sacrificialcapping layer using an etchant comprising a base and an oxidizer. As anexample, the base can comprise ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH), tetra methylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), or the like. As another example, the oxidizercan comprise hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), dissolved ozone (O₃), or thelike. As yet another example, the etchant can have a pH between 4 and10. In a particular embodiment, the pH of the etchant is between 6 and8. With conditions and compositions such as those given above, anetchant used in connection with embodiments of the invention selectivelydissolves tungsten, i.e., dissolves tungsten and not aluminum or thework function metal, thereby allowing the formation of a self-alignedprotective cap over an aluminum gate (or gates made of other materials),as further discussed below.

A step 250 of method 200 is to fill the trench with an electricallyinsulating material in order to form an electrically insulating capcentered on the gate metal. As an example, the electrically insulatingcap can be similar to electrically insulating cap 150 that is shown inFIG. 1. This electrically insulating cap completely covers and protectsthe underlying gate electrode by, for example, acting as an etch stoplayer during source/drain contact etch. As an example, the compositionof the electrically insulating cap and/or the etch chemistry of thesource/drain contact etch may be chosen such that the electricallyinsulating cap is substantially impervious to the contact etch chemistryin order that the contact etch may proceed without raising gate metaldamage issues. This in turn leads to increased contact registrationmargins and other advantages as discussed above.

Electrically insulating cap 150 is also shown in FIG. 5, which is across-sectional view of metal gate structure 100 at a particular pointin its manufacturing process according to an embodiment of theinvention. It should be noted that FIG. 5, like FIGS. 3 and 4, depictsmetal gate structure 100 at an earlier point in its manufacturingprocess than does FIG. 1. FIG. 5 illustrates electrically insulating cap150 immediately after its deposition, at which time it has a roundedtop; the substantially flat top it is subsequently given (see FIG. 1) isproduced by polishing back electrically insulating cap 150 so that it isflush with a surface 565 of lower section 161 of electrically insulatinglayer 160. A dotted line 555 in FIG. 5 indicates a level to whichelectrically insulating cap may, in at least one embodiment, be polishedback.

Following the polishing back of electrically insulating cap 150, uppersection 162 of electrically insulating layer 160 may be deposited overlower section 161. As an example, metal gate structure 100 may then takethe form that it is depicted in FIG. 1 and electrically insulating cap150 will entirely protect gate metal 140 during source/drain contactetch, as has been described herein.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scopeof the invention. Accordingly, the disclosure of embodiments of theinvention is intended to be illustrative of the scope of the inventionand is not intended to be limiting. It is intended that the scope of theinvention shall be limited only to the extent required by the appendedclaims. For example, to one of ordinary skill in the art, it will bereadily apparent that the metal gate structures and related methodsdiscussed herein may be implemented in a variety of embodiments, andthat the foregoing discussion of certain of these embodiments does notnecessarily represent a complete description of all possibleembodiments.

Additionally, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems havebeen described with regard to specific embodiments. The benefits,advantages, solutions to problems, and any element or elements that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced, however, are not to be construed as critical, required, oressential features or elements of any or all of the claims.

Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are not dedicatedto the public under the doctrine of dedication if the embodiments and/orlimitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in the claims; and (2) are orare potentially equivalents of express elements and/or limitations inthe claims under the doctrine of equivalents.

1. An apparatus comprising: a substrate; a gate dielectric over thesubstrate; a work function metal adjacent to the gate dielectric; a gatemetal adjacent to the work function metal; an electrically insulatingcap centered on the gate metal; an electrically insulating layer overand at least partially surrounding the electrically insulating cap, theelectrically insulating layer comprising a first section having asurface that is co-planar with a surface of the electrically insulatingcap, the first section comprising a low-k material, and furthercomprising a second section above the first section, the second sectionalso comprising the low-k material; spacers adjacent to the gatedielectric; and a dielectric material at least partially surrounding thespacers.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the gate metal is asubstance taken from the group consisting of aluminum, tungsten, andtitanium-nitride.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: the electricallyinsulating cap is a substance taken from the group consisting of siliconnitride and silicon carbide.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein: thegate dielectric is a high-k dielectric material.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein: the work function metal and the gate metal are the samematerial.